The purpose of this unit plan is to build on student’s prior knowledge and expand their knowledge of evolution. Students will have been previously studying the history of life and will have covered geologic time as well as genetics in earlier chapters. Therefore, I will build on this as I introduce and teach the chapter entitled The Theory of Evolution. Evolution can be a controversial topic so a major focus of this unit is the evidence that evolution exists. I will begin this unit with a lesson on natural selection and Charles Darwin where the students, among other things, will conduct a Birds and Beaks lab to illustrate how the Galapagos Finches beaks changed over time. Next we will get into the evidence for evolution. Here I am having the students do a jigsaw activity in which each group will read an article on a different type of evidence for evolution such as fossils, structural adaptations, and anatomy. I will have the groups share out after during which students can discuss what they learned and give their own opinions on what this evidence suggests for evolution. The next topic I will cover is population genetics and I designed an activity where the students will be using Teddy Grahams (which come in two different positions) to show how populations change over time due to natural selection. The final topic I will address is the evolution of species which is a lesson on cladograms. Here I will bring in different sets of organisms (toys such as plastic dinosaurs) and have the students assemble a cladogram where they will have to be able to articulate and rationalize why they built the cladogram as they did. Finally I will do a wrap up review game of Jeopardy before the 6th day of the unit which will be a test.
Learning Performances and Standards
GSE’s:The following is a list of the GSE’s that will be covered in this unit plan as well as the links to the unpacked GSE’s.# LS3-Groups of organisms show evidence of change over time (structures, behaviors, and biochemistry). Students demonstrate an understanding ofNaturalSelection/ evolution by… 7a investigating how information is passed from parents to offspring by encoded molecules (e.g. evidence from electrophoresis, DNA fingerprinting). 7b investigating how the sorting and recombination of genes in sexual reproduction results in a great variety of possible gene combinations in the offspring of any two parents. (e.g. manipulate models to represent and predict genotypes and phenotypes, Punnett Squares, probability activities). 7c citing evidence of how natural selection and its evolutionary consequences provide a scientific explanation for the diversity and unity of past and present life forms on Earth.
(e.g. Galapagos Islands, Hawaiian Islands, Australia, geographic isolation, adaptive radiation). https://riscienceteachers.wikispaces.com/LS3+%289-11%29+-+7# LS3 (9-11) -8Students demonstrate an understanding of Natural Selection/ evolution by… 8a illustrating that when an environment changes, the survival advantage /disadvantage of some characteristics may change. 8bdistinguish between microevolution (on small scale within a single population –e.g., change in gene frequency within a population) and macroevolution (on a scale that transcends boundaries of a single species – e.g., diversity of all beetle species within the order of insects) and explain how macroevolution accounts for speciation and extinction. 8c recognizing patterns in molecular and fossil evidence, to provide a scientific explanation for Natural Selection and its evolutionary consequences (e.g. survival, adaptation). Students demonstrate an understanding of classification of organisms by … 8d using data or models (charts, diagrams, table, narratives etc.) to analyze how organisms are organized into a hierarchy of groups and subgroups based on evolutionary relationships. (e.g. creating a taxonomic key to organize a given set of examples). https://riscienceteachers.wikispaces.com/LS3+%289-11%29+-+8
Outline, Concept Map, or other Graphical Representation of the Concepts Addressed in the Unit
A major theme for this semester seems to have been how to engage students, and it kept coming back to making the lesson meaningful to them. We cannot expect students to learn if they don’t care about what we are teaching and therefore it is our jobs to make them care about it by connecting it to their own lives. Evolution is a fairly easy unit to get students to connect with because you can do so many hands on activities. In addition students see evidence for evolution in their everyday lives, for example if students like animals or nature I can connect with them by asking questions such as “ever wonder why your pet parrot has that shaped beak?” or “how do you think the trees you saw on your hike this weekend could survive a drought?” Even students who are interested in sports for example could be connected with by asking “do you think it would be possible to catch that football if we had not evolved opposable thumbs?” If your students are interested in and feel connected with your lesson it will be much easier to get them to participate and learn. Another great way to get students engaged is inquiry lessons. My inquiry lesson is my birds and beaks lab. Here students will get to try picking up different food types using different tools. They will then formulate their own opinions and questions about how this relates to evolution, and natural selection. I can then adapt my lesson depending on if the students are more interested in for example, the morphology of the beaks or the sequence of events leading to all those different beaks. By allowing the students to discover natural selection on their own and formulate their own opinions and questions on it they will be more invested in the lesson. When building a lesson it is important that you not only connect the material to student’s lives but connect it to their prior knowledge. Some of the evidence for evolution is fossils and when teaching this section I plan on connecting this to what students learned about geology and geologic time in the previous chapter. The students will also have already covered genetics which will be useful to tap into when I cover population genetics. By asking students to recall what they already know about individual genetics I can build on this by expanding genetics to an entire population. In addition to connecting this unit to previous units I also need to make sure that the unit itself is connected and flows easily so that students see how individual concepts connect to paint the overall picture of evolution. I will be covering natural selection first and then move into the evidence for evolution. This flows nicely because if students already have an understanding of natural selection they will be able to see how fossils support evolution by seeing how species changed over time to become better adapted to their environment. The anatomy of different species such as humans and apes is evidence for evolution that the students will be able to understand after they have been exposed to their idea of species adapting over time to become better fit to their environment. Then we will get into population genetics and show how an individual does not evolve but rather populations do. This connects to previous lessons because I will show the students how an individual bird cannot change its beak shape but if the environment selects for smaller beaks then the smaller beaked birds will survive and reproduce more than large beaked birds and eventually the whole population will have small beaks. If students did not understand natural selection before we got into population genetics they would have a very hard time with this concept. My final activity for this unit is the building of a cladogram. I chose this as my last activity because in order to build and rationalize a cladogram the students will have to recall all the previous lessons. Can you jump from a dinosaur to a human? No? Why not? The students will have to understand natural selection, the evidence for evolution, and population genetics before they can build a reasonable cladogram. Building a lesson plan that engages the students, relies on previous knowledge, and flows smoothly is only good if you can show students actually learned something. I have a number of smaller assessments, such as quizzes and homework assignments throughout the lesson, as well as a final test. The test will include both lower and high level thinking skills, such as multiple choice questions as well as essays. I will also assess student’s cladograms. I will not grade the students on if the cladogram is correct but instead will look at if they can explain why they went from a dinosaur to a giraffe. Did they think that because the dinosaur and giraffe both had long necks that they must be related due to their anatomy? If so then they proved that they know anatomy can be evidence for evolution even if they did not get the exact order correct. My favorite reading this semester was the one about the Game of School. I designed my lesson with this in mind to try to avoid playing the game. For example, the homework assignments I give the students will be meaningful and not just busy work. They will also be collected and not just checked for completion. I also read an article about the difference between assessment of learning and for assessment for learning. Assessment for learning means that if a student did not do well they will learn more if you give feedback and allow revisions then if you simply give them a bad grade and say better luck next time. Therefore, I plan on helping students learn by always allowing for revisions. This can be done informally with the cladograms. If students cannot rationalize their decisions I will ask open ended questions and have them keep trying until they get there. I will also do this formally with the test. If any student wants to improve their grade they can. For multiple choice answers they got wrong they will need to tell me the correct answer and write a few sentences about why it is right and why they think they got it wrong in the first place. For the essays they can redo them entirely if necessary. This way student will not only learn more but also will learn not to fear assessment and think that if they failed the exam their stupid. From the opening of my first lesson all the way to the revisions on the test my goal is to keep the students engaged, help them connect with the material, and avoid playing the game of school. If I can accomplish these goals I think I will be well on my way to becoming the teacher I said I want to be in my Teaching Philosophy.
Title: Evolution
Author: Kerry Keenan
Grade Level: 10th grade CP
Course: Biology
Purpose of Unit / Unit Overview
The purpose of this unit plan is to build on student’s prior knowledge and expand their knowledge of evolution. Students will have been previously studying the history of life and will have covered geologic time as well as genetics in earlier chapters. Therefore, I will build on this as I introduce and teach the chapter entitled The Theory of Evolution. Evolution can be a controversial topic so a major focus of this unit is the evidence that evolution exists.
I will begin this unit with a lesson on natural selection and Charles Darwin where the students, among other things, will conduct a Birds and Beaks lab to illustrate how the Galapagos Finches beaks changed over time. Next we will get into the evidence for evolution. Here I am having the students do a jigsaw activity in which each group will read an article on a different type of evidence for evolution such as fossils, structural adaptations, and anatomy. I will have the groups share out after during which students can discuss what they learned and give their own opinions on what this evidence suggests for evolution. The next topic I will cover is population genetics and I designed an activity where the students will be using Teddy Grahams (which come in two different positions) to show how populations change over time due to natural selection. The final topic I will address is the evolution of species which is a lesson on cladograms. Here I will bring in different sets of organisms (toys such as plastic dinosaurs) and have the students assemble a cladogram where they will have to be able to articulate and rationalize why they built the cladogram as they did. Finally I will do a wrap up review game of Jeopardy before the 6th day of the unit which will be a test.
Learning Performances and Standards
GSE’s:The following is a list of the GSE’s that will be covered in this unit plan as well as the links to the unpacked GSE’s.# LS3-Groups of organisms show evidence of change over time (structures, behaviors, and biochemistry).Students demonstrate an understanding ofNaturalSelection/ evolution by…
7a investigating how information is passed from parents to offspring by encoded molecules (e.g. evidence from electrophoresis, DNA fingerprinting).
7b investigating how the sorting and recombination of genes in sexual reproduction results in a great variety of possible gene combinations in the offspring of any two parents. (e.g. manipulate models to represent and predict genotypes and phenotypes, Punnett Squares, probability activities).
7c citing evidence of how natural selection and its evolutionary consequences provide a scientific explanation for the diversity and unity of past and present life forms on Earth.
(e.g. Galapagos Islands, Hawaiian Islands, Australia, geographic isolation, adaptive radiation).
https://riscienceteachers.wikispaces.com/LS3+%289-11%29+-+7# LS3 (9-11) -8Students demonstrate an understanding of Natural Selection/ evolution by…
8a illustrating that when an environment changes, the survival advantage /disadvantage of some characteristics may change.
8bdistinguish between microevolution (on small scale within a single population –e.g., change in gene frequency within a population) and macroevolution (on a scale that transcends boundaries of a single species – e.g., diversity of all beetle species within the order of insects) and explain how macroevolution accounts for speciation and extinction.
8c recognizing patterns in molecular and fossil evidence, to provide a scientific explanation for Natural Selection and its evolutionary consequences (e.g. survival, adaptation).
Students demonstrate an understanding of classification of organisms by …
8d using data or models (charts, diagrams, table, narratives etc.) to analyze how organisms are organized into a hierarchy of groups and subgroups based on evolutionary relationships. (e.g. creating a taxonomic key to organize a given set of examples).
https://riscienceteachers.wikispaces.com/LS3+%289-11%29+-+8
Outline, Concept Map, or other Graphical Representation of the Concepts Addressed in the Unit
Charles Darwin and Natural SelectionLesson Sequence
Lesson 1Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Lesson 5
Lesson 6
Rationale
A major theme for this semester seems to have been how to engage students, and it kept coming back to making the lesson meaningful to them. We cannot expect students to learn if they don’t care about what we are teaching and therefore it is our jobs to make them care about it by connecting it to their own lives. Evolution is a fairly easy unit to get students to connect with because you can do so many hands on activities. In addition students see evidence for evolution in their everyday lives, for example if students like animals or nature I can connect with them by asking questions such as “ever wonder why your pet parrot has that shaped beak?” or “how do you think the trees you saw on your hike this weekend could survive a drought?” Even students who are interested in sports for example could be connected with by asking “do you think it would be possible to catch that football if we had not evolved opposable thumbs?” If your students are interested in and feel connected with your lesson it will be much easier to get them to participate and learn.Another great way to get students engaged is inquiry lessons. My inquiry lesson is my birds and beaks lab. Here students will get to try picking up different food types using different tools. They will then formulate their own opinions and questions about how this relates to evolution, and natural selection. I can then adapt my lesson depending on if the students are more interested in for example, the morphology of the beaks or the sequence of events leading to all those different beaks. By allowing the students to discover natural selection on their own and formulate their own opinions and questions on it they will be more invested in the lesson.
When building a lesson it is important that you not only connect the material to student’s lives but connect it to their prior knowledge. Some of the evidence for evolution is fossils and when teaching this section I plan on connecting this to what students learned about geology and geologic time in the previous chapter. The students will also have already covered genetics which will be useful to tap into when I cover population genetics. By asking students to recall what they already know about individual genetics I can build on this by expanding genetics to an entire population. In addition to connecting this unit to previous units I also need to make sure that the unit itself is connected and flows easily so that students see how individual concepts connect to paint the overall picture of evolution.
I will be covering natural selection first and then move into the evidence for evolution. This flows nicely because if students already have an understanding of natural selection they will be able to see how fossils support evolution by seeing how species changed over time to become better adapted to their environment. The anatomy of different species such as humans and apes is evidence for evolution that the students will be able to understand after they have been exposed to their idea of species adapting over time to become better fit to their environment. Then we will get into population genetics and show how an individual does not evolve but rather populations do. This connects to previous lessons because I will show the students how an individual bird cannot change its beak shape but if the environment selects for smaller beaks then the smaller beaked birds will survive and reproduce more than large beaked birds and eventually the whole population will have small beaks. If students did not understand natural selection before we got into population genetics they would have a very hard time with this concept. My final activity for this unit is the building of a cladogram. I chose this as my last activity because in order to build and rationalize a cladogram the students will have to recall all the previous lessons. Can you jump from a dinosaur to a human? No? Why not? The students will have to understand natural selection, the evidence for evolution, and population genetics before they can build a reasonable cladogram.
Building a lesson plan that engages the students, relies on previous knowledge, and flows smoothly is only good if you can show students actually learned something. I have a number of smaller assessments, such as quizzes and homework assignments throughout the lesson, as well as a final test. The test will include both lower and high level thinking skills, such as multiple choice questions as well as essays. I will also assess student’s cladograms. I will not grade the students on if the cladogram is correct but instead will look at if they can explain why they went from a dinosaur to a giraffe. Did they think that because the dinosaur and giraffe both had long necks that they must be related due to their anatomy? If so then they proved that they know anatomy can be evidence for evolution even if they did not get the exact order correct.
My favorite reading this semester was the one about the Game of School. I designed my lesson with this in mind to try to avoid playing the game. For example, the homework assignments I give the students will be meaningful and not just busy work. They will also be collected and not just checked for completion. I also read an article about the difference between assessment of learning and for assessment for learning. Assessment for learning means that if a student did not do well they will learn more if you give feedback and allow revisions then if you simply give them a bad grade and say better luck next time. Therefore, I plan on helping students learn by always allowing for revisions. This can be done informally with the cladograms. If students cannot rationalize their decisions I will ask open ended questions and have them keep trying until they get there. I will also do this formally with the test. If any student wants to improve their grade they can. For multiple choice answers they got wrong they will need to tell me the correct answer and write a few sentences about why it is right and why they think they got it wrong in the first place. For the essays they can redo them entirely if necessary. This way student will not only learn more but also will learn not to fear assessment and think that if they failed the exam their stupid.
From the opening of my first lesson all the way to the revisions on the test my goal is to keep the students engaged, help them connect with the material, and avoid playing the game of school. If I can accomplish these goals I think I will be well on my way to becoming the teacher I said I want to be in my Teaching Philosophy.